Saving the Savior
by AliceAxel399
Summary: She was like a shadow. Slipping in and out of their lives and always a mystery. When life starts to cave in on her and starts to break her apart, who will help her? She saved everybody once, but who will save the savior? SasuSaku
1. Chapter 1: Too Early

**Saving the Savior**

**Disclaimer: I will probably never own Naruto. **

~#*#~

"Oh man, just look at her. She walks around like she owns the place."

"Be quiet, she might hear you. For your info, she technically does own the place. Her father owns a fashion corporation and he donates tons of money to this school."

"Like I care. She doesn't have to treat us like we're beneath her or something. It's disgusting."

"And look at that hair! Pink? How trashy."

"She claims that it's 'natural.' Yeah right."

"Sasuke-kun, do you think her hair is dyed?"

The said Sasuke slowly looked up from his textbook uninterestedly when he heard his name. He openly glared at the girl who called him but she just batted her lashes and flashed her caked lips into a smile. He ran his hand through his hair and ignored the girl in hopes that she would leave him alone.

"Oi, Teme!" an obnoxiously loud voice shouted next to Sasuke. Irritated, Sasuke turned to Naruto, whose blue eyes gleamed mischievously. "You know, she asked you if you think that girl's hair is natural," Naruto smirked, pointing to the pink haired girl with his pencil. Sasuke's eyes quickly flicked over to that direction and he suddenly understood what all the noise was about.

They were talking about the rich girl. The girl he didn't give a single cent about. She was sitting at her desk and seemed to be working on some schoolwork. Once in awhile, she would shake her head slightly, probably deprecating herself for making a mistake in the work at her desk. Sasuke's eyes finally drifted to the girl's pastel pink pony-tail. The thin rosette strands were illuminated by the sun, giving her hair an ethereal shine. However, her bangs covered her face, so Sasuke could not get a single glimpse of her countenance.

"Hn." How annoying.

But an even more annoying sound was being emanated from the squeaky girl from earlier.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, so do you think it's natural?" she asked again, scrunching her nose this time. Naruto sensed that Sasuke was becoming agitated, so he decided to step in.

"Natural or not, I think she's pretty cute," Naruto bravely said as he leaned back into his chair. The other girls who were gossiping about the rich girl earlier began to gasp. The squeaky leader of the group instantly turned red at Naruto's comment and glared at him.

"Ehh?! I'm much prettier than her! You wouldn't know pretty if it hit you in the face," the girl said, directing her words to Naruto. "We're leaving, girls!" she ordered. Naruto just shrugged as the little girl group stomped back to their seats.

Sasuke sighed, feeling relief and peace. Finally. He was about to return to his books when he was interrupted. Again. His eye twitched in irritation.

"You're welcome, Sasuke," Naruto whispered. He wore a silly victory grin…that Sasuke wanted to punch off of his face. However, Sasuke just glared at him and called Naruto a "dobe."

"Aw, Sasu-cakes! Don't look at me like that," Naruto whined, mimicking a whining fangirl. "You'll lose the president of your fanclub that way." This drew a slight smirk out of Sasuke while Naruto snickered a bit.

The bell suddenly rang and the teacher of the final class of the day arrived, silencing every student. The entire class paid close attention to their strict teacher as she gave notes.

Well, all except for one Sasuke Uchiha. Throughout the period, he kept glancing over to the rich pink-haired girl, trying to catch a glimpse at her face.

'_I think she's pretty cute.'_

The dobe said that confidently, but Sasuke wanted to see if that statement was true.

~#*#~

Ding-dong!

A groan sounded as the loud noise interrupted a man's sleep (and his flashback dream.) The man looked over to his bedside clock. 8:27 a.m. and that was way too early.

Ding-dong!

"I'm motherfreaking coming!" the man shouted. He swore to himself and promised he would strangle the person at the door. Grudgingly, he crawled out from the warmth of his blanket, exposing his body to the cool air of his room. His feet searched for his black slippers and soon, he shuffled out of his room and to the apartment door. The man growled as he opened the door, in a little bit (lot) of irritation. If looks could kill, he was sure the person at the door was already at his or her own funeral.

"Good morning, Teme!" an obnoxious voice practically screamed into Sasuke's face. Sasuke rubbed his eyes to clear his sight but he was absolutely sure who the person at the door was.

Obsidian eyes cleared and a pair of sparkly blue eyes stared back at him.

Talk about déjà vu.

"What do you want, Dobe?" Sasuke demanded as he sluggishly walked to the kitchen, silently inviting Naruto into the apartment. Sasuke turned on his coffee pot and heard Naruto shut the door and practically skip into the kitchen.

"I'm here to remind you about Ino's photoshoot! You can't be late since you offered to sponsor for it," Naruto announced. He opened one of the kitchen cupboards and pulled out two cups. He looked over and saw Sasuke furrow his brows in confusion.

"That's today? Damn. And I had wanted to schedule a company meeting," Sasuke grumbled. "Why did I have to be so kind and rich?" He smirked as his lightning-speed (no pun intended) coffee maker beeped and signaled his finished coffee. Naruto scoffed at Sasuke's conceit and shoved the two cups to Sasuke's side of the counter.

"Why are you so full of yourself? Now, that is the question," Naruto corrected. Sasuke 'hnned' at that and walked to stand across Naruto's side of the counter. He pulled out his very own bar stool and sat down. Naruto looked at Sasuke and finally noticed his darker eye bags and untrimmed hair.

"Dude, you look like shit," Naruto sneered, becoming a little serious.

"Go to hell," was the response he received.

"And you're grumpy. Hmm, well Mr. Uchiha, I think you have a case of Missing You-Know-Who Syndrome," Naruto replied while smirking into his cup of coffee. He was sure that would draw a worthy response out of the stoic ice block in front of him.

However, Sasuke just quietly growled and put his face into his palms. Naruto frowned. This wasn't the response he was fishing for. He needed a better hook.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter. But _this_ coffee does matter and it needs some sugar," Naruto cautiously stated. He kept his eyes on the Uchiha.

"The coffee is perfectly fine," Sasuke snapped. Well, it wasn't like he was lying. Sasuke always liked his coffee plain. No sugar. No milk. Just bland bitter coffee. Just the way he liked it.

"For you, it is wonderful, but my taste buds are bored! Do you have anymore of that _Emerald_ Brand Sugar?" Naruto asked. Coal-dark eyes snapped open and Sasuke lifted his face from his hands. His expression softened at the mention of emerald and his vision drifted to somewhere far away.

"_Bingo,"_ Naruto thought. He watched Sasuke, but Sasuke did not see him.

Sasuke was thinking of something else that was emerald, but the shade of that specific emerald he was remembering was soft and caring. Warm and comforting. Sometimes chilling and annoying.

_Emerald. Such a lovely color._

~#*#~

(flashback)

The bell rang and suddenly, all the students in the classroom rushed to the door. The chattering of students and the teacher's loud reminders of due dates next week could be heard all around the room.

Sasuke Uchiha had a unexplainable habit of leaving the class last, even after the teacher left. The teacher would understand and just slightly smile at the Uchiha, as a way of reminding him to lock the room after he leaves. In return, Sasuke would just slightly nod his head in consent. After the exchange of silent messages, he would usually just sit in the classroom, typically having nothing to do.

However, today, he didn't feel like staying in the classroom. He needed to attend one of the meeting's at his father's corporation.

As he grew older, Sasuke knew that his father wanted him to become the CEO of Uchiha Co., a large corporation focusing on almost everything on the market. The company was famous halfway across the globe for its efficiency and high profits.

Luckily, his father believed that Sasuke should live his own life now because he may not have a chance later on. This resulted in the rare monthly corporate meetings that Sasuke was required to attend.

That was the reason to why he was running down the hallways to reach the school entrance. He was going to be late to the meeting and Uchihas are never late. As if hearing his thoughts, the wave of bodies also rushing to the exit became too much to handle. Luckily, Sasuke knew a few deserted hallways that nobody used after school because there were no end-of-the-day classes taken there.

Sasuke stealthily snaked between people until he ran into one of the empty hallways.

Well, at least he had hoped the hallway would be empty. But, no. There was one more person who also knew of this hallway.

Leaning outside one of the hallway windows was the pink-haired girl. She wasn't looking in Sasuke's direction, rather, she was looking outside. Sasuke could see the side of her form, but still could not see her face. Sasuke grew irritated because of this and because she knew of his secret hallway. He also noticed there were miscellaneous objects lying on the floor, but he redirected his attention to the girl.

The girl seemed to be happily leaning out of the open window, so Sasuke decided to ruin her fun and he approached her. Sasuke noticed that her muscles tensed a bit, as if she knew he was there but she was hoping he would just pass by.

"Hey, it's dangerous leaning out of a window like that," Sasuke sharply reprimanded. This time, the girl tensed even more but showed no sign of acknowledging Sasuke's presence. Sasuke's eye brow twitched a bit at that and he grew annoyed.

"I'm not leaving until you get off the ledge," Sasuke informed. He decided to mess with her a little. Plus, egging her on like that just might allow him to see her face.

"Fine," the girl replied in a monotone. Her voice was surprisingly mellow for a small girl like her, but it was still feminine and smooth. "I'll leave then." She turned her back to Sasuke and held onto her school satchel that hung from her shoulders. Her pink hair swayed a bit with this action, but that wasn't what caught Sasuke's eyes.

As she took her first graceful steps away from him, something shiny fell from her bag. She didn't seem to notice, but Sasuke immediately went to fetch it from the ground. He walked to the object and brought it up to his face to take a good look at it.

"Wait!" Sasuke exclaimed. He saw the girl stop, but she did not turn around. He looked at the object again and noticed it was a key chain. The key chain was in a shape of a fan, colored in red on the first half and white along the bottom half. He frowned as he began realize its familiar shape.

It was the Uchiha crest.

Sasuke ran up to the girl who was at the end of the hallway. She still had her back turned to him. Her head was slightly inclined to look at her satchel, realizing that she was missing her keychain.

"Give it back," the girl coldly demanded. She turned her body to reach for the key chain but her face was still hidden. Her arm was outstretched and Sasuke noticed a hall monitor badge on her sleeve. Slowly, Sasuke's eye brows furrowed. He was starting to get angry from speaking to a person who did not look directly into his face. It was just rude.

"I'm not giving it back until you say thanks," Sasuke declared as his voice stoned over. Not showing her face and being demanding. Uchihas don't tolerate that. He thought he had her, but he was wrong. The girl just dropped her outreaching arm. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and was in shock. She adjusted her stature and continued walking away from him.

"Fine, Uchiha, you can keep it," the girl stoically replied. Her steps echoed in the hall and they broke Sasuke from his small shock.

"What's your name?" Sasuke suddenly asked. He was purely curious now. He wanted to know who this annoying girl was. The girl stopped in her tracks and inclined her head slightly. Sasuke thought he heard her sigh.

"Sakura. Sakura Haruno," the girl revealed in strong tone. She failed to continue on her journey away from the Uchiha because the said boy caught up to her.

"Sakura, is your hair color natural?" Sasuke suddenly blurted. His own eyes widened at his question, not knowing why he would ask that.

"_Smooth, Sasuke, very smooth,"_ he thought as he mentally slapped himself. He was prevented from mentally beating himself up when Sakura turned around.

Sakura's softly sculpted but clearly defined face first caught Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke was surprised to find her smirking. Her smirking lips were pink like blossoms and they bordered her pearly white teeth. She stood with a powerful confidence and she had her hands on her waist.

However, there was only one characteristic on her face that completely caught Sasuke's attention. They were her bright green eyes. Her eyes contained shades of teal, dark green, fern green, and jade. They shined like emeralds. The emerald color of her eyes were accentuated by a twinkle of mirth and defiance.

It was completely enchanting.

"_Definitely cute…wait…what?"_ Sasuke thought as different things flew in his mind.

"Well, Uchiha, my hair _is_ dyed. I dyed it while I was growing inside my mother's womb," she affirmed with a hint of sarcasm.

With that, she smirked at him one last time and quickly turned around. Not giving him a chance to interrupt her departure one more time, Sakura quickly walked to the end of the hallway and disappeared around the corner. Her footsteps and remains of her tinkle-like laughter echoed in the hallway.

Sasuke just stood at where he was, eyes wide and jaws opened a bit. His hand still held Sakura's key chain, but his grip soon tightened. Other than that, he just stood there.

For the first time in Sasuke Uchiha's life, he was absolutely speechless.

~#*#~

Naruto stared at Sasuke quietly as he went through another flash back. In the end, he decided against getting the sugar for his coffee. Instead, he decided to not disturb Sasuke and to let him be. Besides, memories were the only thing Sasuke had left.

Sasuke's problem wasn't a real problem, but it affected his mental health. Naruto would constantly witness Sasuke's depression. Naruto thanked the kamis every day for not letting this harm Sasuke. Sure, Sasuke would go through flash backs but it wouldn't change his life too drastically. Sasuke still knew his duties and what was important in current situations.

However, it was as if Sasuke decided to live a life of depression when Sakura left.

"I want her back, too," Naruto whispered to nobody. He ran his fingers through his blonde spikes and sighed. He looked at Sasuke's kitchen clock and saw it was 8:43 a.m., about fifteen minutes from Ino's photoshoot.

"Earth to Sasuke! Come in to mission control!" Naruto almost yelled into Sasuke's face. Sasuke slightly jumped and glared at Naruto when he realized that he had interrupted his thoughts. "Ino's photoshoot will start in about fifteen minutes. You should go clean yourself up."

"Hn," was all Sasuke grunted as he looked at his kitchen clock. Stiffly, he stood from his stool and stretched a bit, feeling the knots in his muscles release.

He made his way to his room as he heard Naruto washing the coffee cups. Entering his dark room, Sasuke picked up a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from his closet. He shuffled over to his window and opened the shutters.

Sasuke did not flinch as the rays of the sun shot into his face and the room.

"_It's too early,"_ was all Sasuke thought as he stared out into the sky.

~#*#~

Author's Note: My first Naruto FanFic! ^-^ Please tell me how I did. If you liked it, feel free to review! It'd make me happy resulting in a faster update! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2: Definitely Welcome

**Saving the Savior**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. **

~#*#~

"Take five, everybody!" the photoshoot director shouted as Sasuke and Naruto walked onto the set. A few members on set waved and whispered as the duo walked passed them. Naruto grinned widely and waved back while Sasuke occasionally nodded towards people he knew. Naruto's eyes panned around the set, looking for another blonde head like his.

"Ino!" he shouted as he caught a glimpse of platinum blonde hair. The surprised girl jumped a bit at her name, but stood up from her props on set. She stretched a bit in her designer dress before running over to the other loud blonde.

"Look what the cat dragged in! A couple of idiots!" Ino teased as she got closer to Naruto and Sasuke. Before Naruto could bite back with an insult, Ino had already locked Naruto in an embrace.

"I'll let it slide this time, Ino. Just because today is a big day for you," Naruto pointed out as he was released from the hug. Ino scoffed as she also awkwardly hugged Sasuke, too. Sasuke just patted her back in return.

"You just have nothing to fight back with," was Ino's reply as she stuck her tongue out. "Hey, Sasuke, thanks for sponsoring the photoshoot. This was a really big chance for me," Ino confessed as she directed her gaze to Sasuke's face.

"You're welcome, Ino," Sasuke robotically replied as he pressed his lips together in a forced smile. Feeling the awkwardness of the conversation, he excused himself to go "discuss something with the producer."

The moment when Sasuke walked out of earshot, Naruto sighed and Ino adorned a scowl. They shared a look.

"I think I can guess what he's thinking about," Ino mumbled as she rolled her eyes. Sasuke Uchiha was really that obvious.

"Correction, you can guess _who_ he's thinking about," Naruto quipped. He rubbed the back of his neck, knowing exactly where this conversation was going.

Luckily, the director's assistant politely asked Naruto to step aside to talk about his opinion on the set, the lighting, etc. Ino saw that she was not needed so she walked over to a chair on set. Feeling bored, she called over one of her own assistants to fetch her phone from her dressing room. While waiting, Ino's thoughts drifted away.

"_Yes, I do know who Sasuke Uchiha is thinking about,"_ Ino thought absentmindedly.

~#*#~

(flashback)

"Get over him, you slut," Alison demanded as she flipped her hair. Her voice echoed in the hallway. "Sai doesn't like flat-chested bimbos like you."

"_Damn this all to hell,"_ was all Ino thought as she silently stood there. School was over and she was walking down an empty hallway when her sudden bad luck had her bump into Sai's fanclub president. Ino looked outside one of the hallway's many windows and stared at the sun. She had to get home before 4:30 to be able to make it to her modeling audition. The thought of having this idiotic girl stop her for a worthless reason had her hand clenching around her purse. Maybe if she ignored her enough, she would leave.

Alison's eyes traveled down to Ino's purse and she suddenly snatched it with her manicured hand. She brought it up to her face and scrunched her nose in disgust, as if she was concluding how much this bag was worth.

In a quick motion, Alison ripped the purse open and spilled all of its contents onto the floor. Notebooks hit the floor and makeup supplies rolled down the hall. Papers covered the floor.

Ino continued standing there. No expression. No reaction.

Alison grew irritated at Ino's lack of reaction and anger slowly brewed. She saw Ino's eyes close, as if calming herself from losing her patience. Alison's anger exploded when she saw this.

Alison lifted her hand to strike Ino's face. Ino's eyes opened and widened, realizing what Alison was about to do. Ino shut her eyes again, accepting the fact that she wouldn't be able to dodge in time and she anticipated the sting on her cheek.

However, the pain never arrived. Cracking one eye open, Ino saw Alison's hand inches from her face.

She also saw another hand, but this hand was holding Alison's hand back. Ino trailed her eyes up to the owner of the hand.

Pastel pink hair and emerald green eyes.

"Sakura Haruno," Alison spat as she tried to release her wrist from the pink-haired girl's hand. "Princess of the School and Miss Hall Monitor, what are you doing here?" Alison demanded with a hint of fear in her voice.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Sakura countered, smirking slightly. Her grip on Alison's wrist tightened and Alison flinched. Alison tried swallowing her fear and looked into Sakura's eyes.

"Do you know who I am? Just because your father is a patron of this school doesn't mean you can lay a hand on me, Japanese bitch. This is American. You're just an outcast, so know your place," Alison sneered. Alison was surprised when she saw Sakura's smirk widen.

"Of course I know who you are! You are the president of a fanclub to Sai, who is also Japanese," Sakura smoothly replied. Her clear voice cut the air like a knife. Alison's jaw dropped. "This is America? Well, this school is for transfer students entering America. If anyone is an outcast, it's you." Alison just stood there, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. Before she could speak, Sakura continued her bashing.

"As hall monitor, I can suspend you from this school for attempting to physically attack a fellow student on campus. However, I will be nice," Sakura decided. She quickly released her death grip on Alison's hand. Alison immediately brought her wrist to her face for inspection and saw that a bruise was forming.

"Get out of here before I change my mind," Sakura menacingly warned, the smirk disappearing from her face. Alison barely heard what she said, fear fully seizing her.

"Watch your back," was Sakura's last warning before Alison ran out of the hall.

When Alison's last footsteps died in an echo, Sakura sighed and slumped. Ino finally caught on to what happened. She was broken out of her awe when she noticed Sakura kneeling down and picking up her purse contents. Ino used this moment to make her only thought clear.

"Sakura-san, I appreciate your kindness for helping me, but I don't need your help anymore. I'm pretty sure she won't bother me again. Most of all, I don't need your pity. Pity is not-"

Ino was cut off when Sakura thrust her purse into her face.

"Your makeup and school supplies are in here. I'll throw the rest of the trash away. It's 4:00 now," Sakura quickly informed, not a single sting hidden in her words. Ino's eyes widened in understanding. It was almost time for the auditions. How would Sakura know though? Well, it didn't matter. Slowly breaking into a smile, Ino accepted the bag and looked into Sakura's green eyes.

Ino was surprised when Sakura smiled in return. It was a genuine smile. Although it was lopsided and small, it was a cute smile. It fit her perfectly.

Ino smiled even more at that thought and turned to walk down the hallway. She was at the end of the hall when she turned back to Sakura one last time.

"Thank you!" She exclaimed. Sakura was leaning out one of the hallway windows when she said this. Ino thought Sakura couldn't hear her thanks, but shrugged. She just continued walking when she heard Sakura's smooth voice over her shoulder.

"You're most definitely welcome."

~#*#~

"Miss Yamanaka," a voice uttered close to Ino.

Suddenly, Ino was pulled out of her thoughts. She noticed her assistant standing in front of her, holding a vibrating phone.

"You have a call," her assistant informed. Ino smiled quickly in thanks and received her phone. She pressed the "accept" button and put the phone to her ear.

"Ino Yamanaka, here. How may I help you?" Ino politely asked.

"Good morning, Miss Ino Yamanaka. My name is Kakashi Hatake and I have a request," a smooth velvety male voice announced on the other side of the line.

"What is the request?" Ino asked, a little cautious.

"We would like you to become a model for a new fashion line coming out soon. We want you to be the model for our magazine. I believe your manager already has the meeting time scheduled to discuss anything, but we just wanted to inform you." Kakashi replied.

"Oh alright, I shall talk to my manager about it. May I ask who created this fashion line?" Ino curiously questioned. She was hoping for a big name or someone famous that would help her career soar.

"Of course you may ask. But you must promise to tell no one. That is the only catch," Kakashi concluded. Ino's delicate eyebrows raised at this.

"Alright, I promise to not tell anybody. So, who created the line?" Ino asked one last time.

"Sakura Haruno created the fashion line," was the response she received.

Ino dropped her phone.

~#*#~

Author's Note: Eeep! Sakura making an entrance soon. Shocker? Not really. What did you guys think? Good? No good? Leave a review to let me know.

Do you think the character traits are believable? I don't know why but that sort of thing bugs me.

Also please excuse the language of this chapter. /.\ It was all Alison's fault!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :D

~alice is out


	3. Chapter 3: Trust Me

**Saving the Savior**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto **

~#*#~

A man looked at his phone warily as he heard no reply from the model on the other side of the line and glanced at the girl sitting on the couch in front of him. Feeling his gaze on her, the girl looked up from her medical textbook and looked into the man's gray eyes.

Seeing that he made no move to end the call, she closed her textbook and leaned over the coffee table between them. She flipped his phone to face her and hit the "speaker off" and "end call" buttons.

"Sakura," the man cautiously stated.

"Kakashi," Sakura mocked in the same tone he used. She noticed that Kakashi was serious, so she silently told him to continue what he wanted to say.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kakashi asked gravely. "You don't have to prove anything to anyone now." Hearing this, Sakura smiled and crinkled her eyes.

"I'm sure I want to do this. I really wanted to start this line. This will be the last one I attempt. I promise," She assured in what was supposed to be a happy tone.

"Stop, Sakura. Your acting is horrible," Kakashi replied. Sakura's smile disappeared and a slight scowl took its place as Kakashi continued. "Don't get hurt by your own actions. You don't have to force yourself to start this line for your dad and mo-"

"Okay," Sakura interrupted sharply. She stood up and grabbed her textbook. "Fine. If this line fails, then you can just hand it over to one of father's 'fashion industry protégés' and let them revive it. How much smaller can your faith in me become, Kakashi?"

"Sakura, I'm not losing faith in you. Listen to me. You've attempted this many times already. You're taking too many risks here," Kakashi defended, looking into Sakura's eyes.

"Yes, it's a risk. It's a risk I am willing to take. I know Ino is a fresh new model and where I am introducing this new line to the world is not like one of the 'Big Four.' Trust me, Kakashi. It's all I ask for," Sakura pleaded. Kakashi stared into Sakura's green eyes for a few moments before he sighed.

"I trust you. Completely," Kakashi affirmed. Sakura slightly smiled at this and was about to end the discussion when Kakashi continued speaking.

"Are you sure you're not doing this just to return to _them_?" Kakashi carefully asked. He knew he was swimming in dangerous territory by breaching this subject. He saw Sakura's shoulders tense and her eyes hardened as she stared right into Kakashi's eyes.

"No," was her cool reply. "I'm not doing this to see them again."

"Even though they are the best thing that has happened in my life."

~#*#~

"We're done! Yes!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped a few times. "I'm so glad the photoshoot is over. Don't tell me you don't feel the same, Teme." Sasuke grunted his agreement and stood up from his seat on the set. He slowly stretched as a few female photoshoot assistants squealed.

"I guess fangirls will never cease to exist as long as there is a Sasuke Uchiha on this planet," Naruto joked as he glanced at the squealing girls with amusement. "You should really get a girlfriend, Teme. Then fangirls might back off a bit." Naruto turned to Sasuke and was met with a scowling Uchiha.

"Don't even joke about that," Sasuke moodily growled. Quickly, Naruto put his hands up in defense and chuckled nervously.

The photoshoot really took a toll on Sasuke. He was always an impatient person, but his anti-social self prevented him from enjoying his time by talking with others on set. Especially when the only people who wanted to talk to him were fangirls.

A brunette suddenly ran in front of the two men as they walked. She wore two buns in her hair and her brown eyes sparkled from the bright lights hanging above the set.

"Hello, Sasuke-san and Naruto-san, I'm Tenten, Ino's manager and I need you guys to come with me right now. Ino is asking for you two," the young woman anxiously informed. Naruto looked over to Sasuke, who wore a pokerface.

"Where is she?" Sasuke nonchalantly asked.

"In her dressing room," Tenten replied.

"Do you know why she needs us right now?" Naruto questioned. Tenten flashed a bright smile.

"She said you guys would definitely want to be informed of some news," she replied.

Both young men glanced at each other and signaled for Tenten to lead them to Ino.

~#*#~

Ino paced inside of her dressing room as she waited for Sasuke and Naruto. She wrung her hands as she walked and lightly chewed on her lower lip once in a while. She had already changed out of her dress and was wearing a t-shirt and sweats. In all honesty, she was afraid of somehow ruining the dress in her current state of mind.

A knock was heard on her dressing room door and Ino practically sprinted over to open it.

"Hurry, come in and close the door," Ino ordered as she gestured for the trio of them to enter. Tenten walked over to Ino's side as Naruto shut the door. "Sit, you two," Ino quickly ordered. Sasuke's eyebrows twitched at the demand but sat down in one of the chairs inside the room anyways. Naruto stared at Ino's excitement amusedly as he sat next to Sasuke.

"What was so importantly secretive that you had to inform us about it in this room?" Naruto asked with a bit of curiosity.

"I was asked to model for another fashion line!" Ino announced.

A moment of silences enveloped the room.

"Are you serious?" Sasuke's annoyed voice questioned. "You called us here to tell us this?" Naruto's gaping mouth silently asked the same thing.

Ino smirked. This was the reaction she was expecting _"I know them too well."_

"I need you to come to my meeting with the creator of the fashion line next week to settle the little details," Ino explained.

"Monday at 10:00 AM," Tenten added quickly, checking Ino's schedule on her handy-dandy manager smart phone. Ino nodded at both males.

"Why can't you go yourself? You've never needed us their before. Why start now?" Naruto wondered. Sasuke's irritation was beginning to rub off on him now.

"You guys have to come. Please, trust me on this. I promise you that you won't regret coming with me," Ino claimed, putting her hands together in a pleading way. Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly.

"How can we be sure?" Sasuke coolly asked. A frown crossed Ino's face.

"Just come to the meeting. Have I ever disappointed you guys?" Ino demanded, placing her hands onto her hips. Both guys had a list going in their heads already.

"No, don't answer that," Ino quickly corrected. "Please. Just do it!" she pleaded loudly. Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other and silently argued. In the end, Sasuke rolled his eyes and Naruto smirked.

"Monday morning at 10, right?" Naruto inquired as he smiled in a mini victory. Ino nodded furiously.

"Then we'll see you there," Naruto announced. Sasuke lightly groaned.

~#*#~

"I'm impressed, Ino," Tenten admitted after closing the door behind Sasuke and Naruto.

"Why so?" Ino wondered as she checked her purse for everything before she left.

"Sakura's rep specifically asked you to not tell anyone about Sakura, but you somehow looped around that agreement. Well played," Tenten complimented as she cleaned up the makeup table.

"That's right. I didn't tell them about _Sakura_. I told them about the _meeting_ and I convinced them to come along with us. I could've been a lawyer if this modeling then hadn't worked out," boasted Ino. Tenten scoffed and Ino chuckled.

"Besides," Ino continued. "They deserve to see her again and I'm absolutely sure they want to see her again. Especially Sasuke."

~#*#~

Sakura stared out of the plane window as the flight was slowly coming to an end. She nervously played with the many bracelets and bands wrapping around her left wrist.

"Twenty more minutes," Kakashi mumbled, checking his phone. Sakura nodded.

Twenty minutes until she reached Los Angeles.

Until she reached the fashion district of California.

Until she could start her last attempt at a fashion line.

Now, she just wanted to know how long before she could see _them_ again.

Ino.

Naruto.

_Sasuke._

Just don't let it be soon.

Please.

~#*#~

A/N: Thank you to **Unrequited-Words** and **princessgoth14** for being my first reviewers! ^-^ You two were great encouragement and your words of kindness touched me. I thank you once again.

I hope everybody enjoyed the chapter. I'm liking this story so far. How about you?

Tell me what you think. :]

By the way, the 'big four' is a term used to represent the four largest fashion capitals of the world. They include London, Paris, Milan, and New York.

-alice is out


	4. Chapter 4: These Memories

**Saving the Savior**

**Disclaimer: Naruto will never belong to me. **

A/N: READ please. Hey there, I usually don't write author's notes at the beginning of a chapter, but this is important.

I'm really sorry I've been lagging on the updates. School finals are coming up and I have to study and start focusing. I'm trying my best to get the chapters to you guys though. Just believe in me here.

This chapter is a flashback chapter. Hehe, I'm being evil. They are two separate scenes that could've happened before or after the other.

To all those who have asked me about the plot, let's just say everything will be clear in due time. Now, please enjoy.

~#*#~

Feeling Bitter

A bakery shop's door opened as Naruto exited the old bakery. Delicious smells wafted through the doorway and from the bag of deserts hugged in Naruto's arms.

It was Friday afternoon and school had just ended. Small groups of students from Naruto's school were walking home in the town square. Despite the great number of teenagers, the town square was surprisingly quiet and calm.

That's what Naruto loved about this town. Sure, he was a loud and fun-loving teenager, but he also enjoyed the peace and the comfortable atmosphere of the small town.

He was walking down a road on his way home when he noticed a flash of pink disappear in his peripheral vision. Suddenly, his head turned left to seek out that surprising apparition. It was just as he had guessed.

A female with a pink pony tail was walking into the town veterinarian clinic. Surprisingly, she was wearing the apron-like uniform of the town pet shop, which was conveniently a neighbor of the clinic.

Naruto's bright blue eyes widened as he realized who it was. It was the pink haired classmate Sasuke has been talking about lately. Now, what was her name again?

"Sa..Sachi? No…Sa…Sandy? Nawh…Sakura!" Naruto accidentally shouted his last guess out loud and Sakura immediately turned around. She was about to enter the clinic, but stopped when she heard her name. Her own eyes widened as she instantly recognized the blonde loud-mouth.

Naruto passed his bakery goods into his right hand and ran over to Sakura, who was contemplating plans of escape routes through her mind. It was too late when Naruto practically ran into her.

"Hi, Sakura-chan. Whatcha doing here?" Naruto quickly asked, breathing deeply to catch his breath from that flashy sprint. Sakura's eyes narrowed slightly at the blonde's straightforwardness.

"Do I know you?" she inquired defensively. Actually, Sakura knew exactly who Naruto was. She was hoping her feigned act would discourage him and he would leave.

However, Naruto could not be deterred by that horrible attempt.

"Yes, you do, Sakura-chan. I'm a senior at your high school. I'm in your language arts and science class. You know, Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto informed with a shining grin. Sakura fought the urge to cover her eyes from the brightness. She inwardly sighed as she failed her attempted discouragement.

"Oh, you're that boy," she muttered. She looked at the clinic door in front of her and accepted the fact that she can't talk to the vet anymore with this boy suddenly interrupting her. She looked at the troublesome blonde and gave him a look of disinterest.

"You never answered my question, Sakura-chan," Naruto accused in a unsatisfied tone. He scanned her face for any reaction, but was sad to find nothing.

"Can't you see I'm at work?" Sakura snapped. She turned away from the boy to walk back to the pet shop, knowing perfectly that he would follow.

"You work at a pet shop? I'm surprised!" Naruto exclaimed. At that moment, Sakura's eyebrow twitched.

"Why can't I work at the pet shop?"

"I'm not saying you can't. I'm just surprised. Hardcore Hall Monitor and Princess of the School working at a pet shop with little puppies. It's a little disarming," Naruto admitted. Sakura reached the pet shop and opened its door. She paused.

"You coming or not?" she asked. Quickly, Naruto followed Sakura into the pet shop and gaped at its interior.

The pet shop looked new, despite being her for decades. It smelled of a sort of shampoo and a comforting atmosphere surrounded the place. There were shelves of pet products and pictures of different pets lined the walls.

Naruto looked to the back of the shop and saw Sakura kneeling down by one of the glass kennels put against the wall. A large sign above the other kennels read "Adoption." Little puppies and kittens were separated into their own kennels. They romped around and voiced their happiness once in a while.

He noticed that Sakura was zoned out of her surroundings as he slowly approached her.

Sakura was gently petting a chocolate brown Chihuahua through a open glass window of the kennel. The puppy growled playfully as it nibbled on a chew toy. Naruto froze in his place when he saw Sakura smile.

"_Her smile is annoying."_ He remembered Sasuke saying that when they were watching her patrol the halls one day.

Naruto could find a million reasons to disagree with that statement.

He looked at her expression and was stunned to see a glint of sadness hide in her emerald eyes.

"His name is Mason," Sakura slowly said. She looked up to Naruto and hardened her expression, as if she barely realized she wasn't alone.

Naruto looked over to a sign next to the glass window and looked at it curiously. The sign read, 'Mason,' but there was a note attached to the sign itself.

'Not up for adoption any longer.'

Confused, he looked to Sakura with a questioning glance. She avoided his gaze and returned to watching the puppy. After a long moment of silence, she spoke.

"Mason has cancer," she explained in a monotone. Sensing Naruto kneeling next to her and setting his bag of desserts down, she continued explaining.

"Mason had a mother that was a stray. She had about a litter of six puppies behind this shop almost eleven months ago. The owner of this shop found them and requested the animal shelter to come pick them up. However, the day before the animal shelter reps were scheduled to arrive, the mother left, taking her puppies with her," Sakura quietly informed. She tensely paused before she continued.

"Well, the mother took all of the puppies with her. Except for one."

"Mason," Naruto stated, his bright mood finally settling down. He looked over at the brown pup and suddenly understood Sakura's sadness. Sakura nodded to affirm Naruto's words.

"Seeing that only Mason was left, the owner decided cancel the animal shelter's retrieval date and took Mason in himself. The thing is that it would make sense for Mason's mother to leave him if he was a runt, even though it isn't in a dog's nature to do so. However, Mason was not a runt. He was lively and strong," Sakura said with a sad smile.

"It was about one month ago when Mason had a check up with the vet. It was then when he was diagnosed with liver cancer. It is extremely rare for a dog his age to get cancer, but it happened. The owner suddenly realized why the mother left Mason out in the cold. And now, here we are, almost a year later. Before you came over to me, I was going to talk to the vet about a possible day to put him to sleep." She ended her explanation with a bitter tone.

Naruto's heart clenched a bit as he kneeled there silently. He knew that there wasn't anything he could say to make Sakura feel better. He understood Sakura's sadness for the puppies fate, but he couldn't understand her bitter tone. It was as if she was somehow empathizing and relating to the puppy.

"Being diagnosed with cancer was unfair to him. Being abandoned by his own mother was even worse. What kind of mother would abandon her own child like that?" Sakura angrily asked to nobody in general. Naruto's eyes widened at her sudden change of tone.

He slowly understood her bitterness.

Slowly, he rested his hand on her shoulder and sat there until she was calm again.

"Just what have you been through, Sakura?" was his final thought.

~#*#~

Bets

Sasuke ran his hand through his hair as he stared out of the window next to him.

The library was completely silent as the afternoon sun showered in through the window. It was a perfect place for Sasuke to study the files his father had literally thrown at him in the morning. They were the statistics of the recent sales of the corporation and the revenue and profit of the separate companies.

Even though his head was jumbled with numbers and he was exhausted, he did not want to go home. His mother had called him right after school to go home as soon as possible to prepare for a dinner with a client of the corporation. Honestly, he was tired of all of the meetings and dinner, so he decided that it was okay for him to ditch this one.

To be honest, he was anxious at first to work at his father's corporation. However, he was starting to get tired of the idea. He has found himself contemplating just giving up his work and to tell his father. The work has taken its toll on him.

Sighing, he reached for his cup of tea on the table in front of him and took a long drink. He then looked at a book that was lying on the table even before he got there. It read 'Pride and Prejudice.'

To his surprise, the book was pulled out of his vision by a slender hand.

He stoically looked up to glare at the person who interrupted his peace. Then, he met another surprise.

The person who courageously took the book from his attention was none other than Sakura Haruno. She silently sat across from Sasuke and placed her own cup of tea in front of her. She didn't even make a move to recognize his presence. Rather, she just opened up the book to a random page and began reading.

One of Sasuke's eyebrows raised at her actions and he continued staring at her.

"What are you doing here so late, Uchiha?" Sakura suddenly asked. She did not look up from her book, but directed the question towards him.

"I could ask you the same," was the Uchiha's reply.

"But I asked first."

"Hn," he slightly grunted. "I don't want to go home."

Sakura looked up from her book at that statement and closed her book. She searched his expression for a sign of jest, but found nothing.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Why can't I not?" he retorted.

"I wasn't saying you can't stay. I was just curious to why you don't want to go home."

"Weren't you told that curiosity killed the cat?"

"Oh, that poor cat. Yes, I've heard of him. He had quite the bad luck, but that doesn't have anything to do with this conversation."

Sasuke smirked slightly at her response. His bored mood was taking quite an interesting turn.

"I don't want to go home because I am supposed to attend a dinner with a sort of client for my father's work," Sasuke finally admitted.

"Oh," was Sakura's reply. Feeling that that response didn't satisfy him, Sasuke continued his explanation.

"I don't really care for the dinners anymore. I've attended one too many. My father wants me to attend meetings, go over reports, and have dinners with clients. It's too much of it and I'm tired of it. He wants me to do the impossible."

"He wants to trust you," Sakura corrected. Sasuke looked up into Sakura's green eyes and realized her whole body language changed.

She suddenly sat in a defensive way and her expression was serious. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at her sudden change of attitude.

"Your father is testing you and he wants you to prove yourself. It's only impossible if you want it to be," Sakura claimed. She looked straight into Sasuke's eyes in an attempt to intimidate him.

However, Sasuke Uchiha is never intimidated.

A long silence enveloped the companions.

"Are you trying to pick a fight?" Sasuke growled.

"No."

"Then why are you talking like you know what my father is thinking?"

"I'm simply informing you of the obvious."

"No, you're trying to offend me."

"How so?"

"You're saying I'm oblivious to the obvious."

"You are."

"What?!" Sasuke loudly demanded. This girl was walking on a high wire here. She was clearly offending him and was trying to intimidate him. Who does she think she is?

"I'm pretty sure your mother and father have asked you to go home many times for many dinners. And I bet your mother tried many times to convince you to do so. Have you ever wondered why?" Sakura asked. Before Sasuke could answer, she did it for him.

"No, you have not. Don't even start denying it. You are a disappointment to your family." Sasuke's eyes widened at her uncensored bashing. He was too stunned to be angered by that statement.

"Your father trusts you enough to give you all the work you are 'tired of.' On the other hand, you're slowly disappointing him and your mother. You don't know how lucky you are to earn their trust. If you knew, you wouldn't be disappointing them right now, as we speak," Sakura continued. Sasuke's mouth was slightly opened as he thought about what he just heard.

It was definitely hard to admit, but he felt every word the female she-devil had just said was right. His mother was always talking about how proud she was of his work at the company. Also, he had noticed her slight disappointed tone she took whenever she forgave him for not attending a dinner. His mother trusted him, along with his father. Sakura was right. Her words took perfect blows to his ego, but they were something that were rare.

Her words were the cold, hard, and honest truth.

"Why are you reacting this way? You have no right to lecture me when you don't even know me," Sasuke pointed out as he slightly glared at her. She ignored his comment and slowly spoke her next words firmly.

"Trust is valuable. You will always receive a certain amount of trust, but when you decide to throw it away, you do not lose the specific amount of only. You lose much more than that. Trust isn't free. Don't throw their trust away like that. Take my advice."

Sasuke's expression softened at her words and became blank. Sakura also seemed to calm down after taking in Sasuke's silence.

"I'll go home right before the dinner starts."

Surprised, Sakura narrowed her eyes and watched Sasuke. He watched her, too. She sensed his understanding and was glad her words reached him.

Her heart jumped suddenly when she realized her slight admiration for his retreat in the argument. She had expected him to fight back with stubbornness, but he actually thought about what she said and accepted her words. For some reason, she felt slightly more comfortable in Sasuke's presence now. She was satisfied that he took her advice and she was starting to feel that Sasuke Uchiha was almost tolerable.

Almost.

After watching her for a while, Sasuke felt a sudden warmth when he saw Sakura smile.

"I bet you won't make it home before the dinner starts," she stated. Her grin only widened more when his eyebrows rose.

"That doesn't really seem fair to you. The dinner starts at 7:00 and it's barely 5:30 right now," Sasuke warned.

"Then let's make another bet," Sakura offered as she basked in her relief. She was glad the tense mood was released and a taunting mood took its place. Suddenly, she felt like her usual self and she craved to mess with this Uchiha.

"I need details," Sasuke challenged.

"Here are two cups of tea," Sakura said as she picked up Sasuke's cup of tea and her own cup. "You place your hands' palms facing down on the table with the amount of money you bet placed between them. Then, I will place each cup on the top of each of your hands. If you can raise your hands one feet above the table with the cups on top of your hands, you win. You take back your money. I'll do the same thing after you. If I lose, you take the money that I have bet, but if I win, I take the money that you have bet. It's a test of balance."

"Seems interesting. I'll go first then," Sasuke announced, fully confident of himself. Sakura nodded and chuckled.

Sasuke fished his pockets for a five dollar bill and placed it on the table. Then, he placed one hand on each side of the bill, palms facing down. He signaled Sakura to place the cups onto his hands.

Slowly, she put one full cup of tea onto each hand. Sasuke noticed that the cups were rather heavy with the tea and his eyes narrowed at the cups' weight.

Carefully, Sakura removed her hands from the cups and stood up. Sasuke's eyes watched her and he gave her a questioning look.

In a quick motion, Sakura snatched the five dollar bill between his hands and grabbed her bags. She simply ran.

A few moments later, Sasuke found himself alone.

He was stunned beyond belief.

That girl just stole his five dollar bill.

He sat there as he thought of ways to remove the cups. Realizing it will take a while to come up with an idea, he just smirked.

Then, he did the impossible.

Sasuke Uchiha started laughing.

~#*#~

A/N: Did you like it? Tell me what you think. I sure enjoyed writing this chapter. :D

This is my longest chapter so far. It is you guys who make me want to write more. :) That's right, start feeling special.

Thank you for your support.

It might be a long wait until the next chapter, but believe in me!


	5. Chapter 5: Please Don't

**Saving the Savior**

**Disclaimer: I am unworthy of owning Naruto… so therefore, I cannot own Naruto.**

~#*#~

A/N: READ…please! I'm back everybody! *dodges a few tomatoes you throw at me*

I'm sorry! It's summer vacation for me and I finally have time to continue this story. Yay! Anyways, don't be mad at me because during this time of inactivity, many ideas for this story decided to come to me.

To be honest, your reviews were the reasons that brought me back. They've pumped me up to continue entertaining you and to clear your confusion of this story. I'm sorry because that is all my fault. I'll like to clear some things up for you now, if you don't mind.

1. I will try to keep flash backs to a minimum. I know they can be confusing. Chapter Four is the only 'planned' flashback chapter.

2. Sasuke and Naruto are NOT models. (Even though both of them would totally make it in the business!) Sasuke is the CEO of Uchiha Corps., and Naruto works with Sasuke. Ino is the only model. Sakura… well, you'll find out about Sakura soon. ;)

3. MOST IMPORTANT: Everything will play itself out soon. The story will happen and you'll be the first to hear about it. Just keep reading. Your questions will be answered.

That's pretty much it. I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time, but this was important.

Without further ado, I present to you… Chapter 5 of Saving the Savior.

Enjoy. :D

~#*#~

Sakura tapped her fingers on the restaurant table slowly. She kept her eyes glued to her electronic tablet as she took a few sips of her hot tea.

Kakashi sighed as he watched Sakura become engrossed in the latest pictures of her new photo shoot set. He fished out his phone and read the time.

"Sakura," Kakashi said quietly. Even though he was careful to break her from her thoughts, Sakura jumped slightly. She looked up from her tablet and noticed Kakashi's tired eyes.

"Yes?" she asked as she closed the cover of her tablet and slipped it into her satchel.

"It's 9:55 now. Ino should be here soon," Kakashi warned.

"Good, because I'm starving. I heard they serve great bacon and eggs here," Sakura said. She picked up the menu and started skimming through its contents.

That was Sakura's way of telling Kakashi that she didn't care. Kakashi frowned and watched her for a few more moments. Accepting that the conversation has ended, he looked around the restaurant.

It was an early start to the day for the restaurant, so there were only a few more customers sipping coffee and reading the newspaper with them. Kakashi thanked the kami for the lack of customers.

If something were to erupt during this meeting, at least embarrassment would not be something to worry about. Surprisingly, Kakashi looked forward to how this would all play out.

He knew that this meeting would either A) go down in flames or B) option A. A happy ending to this meeting was simply not an option.

~#*#~

"Right here, on the left," Ino quickly said. Sasuke took a sharp turn and pulled into a parking lot.

"Watch it, Sasuke. Man, who gave you a driver license? I need to talk to him," Naruto snapped as his head hit the window next to him.

"Hey, dobe. My car, my rules. Rule number 1: Shut up," Sasuke growled back. He suddenly noticed how unusually empty the parking lot was. Deciding not to care, he chose the parking spot nearest to the entrance of the restaurant.

"Alright, Princess Trouble. We're here," Naruto announced. Ino glared at the nickname, but bit back her retort.

"You guys stay here for about two minutes. I need to clear something up with the people in there," Ino informed them quietly.

"What do you need to clear up?" Sasuke abruptly turned around and asked.

"I kind of… told them nobody was going to accompany me, but I'm sure they'll let you join us!" Ino quickly finished with a bright smile.

"You're joking, right? You can't just invite people who weren't even in-" Naruto was cut off as Ino hopped out of the car and sprinted to the entrance of the restaurant.

"Two minutes, okay? Wait, make it three!" she exclaimed right before she was out of earshot.

Sasuke frowned and Naruto sighed.

"This better be worth it," Sasuke noted.

~#*#~

Ino walked into the restaurant and took a few minutes to gape at the class of the place. She would've never chosen this restaurant to be a meeting place herself. The service was wonderful, but the price was less agreeable.

A waiter came to help her, but she quickly dismissed him by saying she already had a table. Her eyes quickly searched the almost empty tables when a head of pink caught her eyes.

Ino smiled and caught the attention of the silver-haired man sitting next to the pink-haired woman. The man politely smiled back and tapped the shoulder of the female next to him. He nodded his head towards Ino and the pink-haired woman began to turn around.

Out of nowhere, Ino felt a desperate need to make sure that the pinkette was her actual best friend, not just some being of hope. Suddenly, she ran and tackled the woman into a bear hug.

"Sakura. Oh my gosh, Sakura. This can't be real. You're back, you're back," Ino gasped as her eyes began glazing over. She felt a chuckle erupt from the woman's chest.

This was Sakura. The one and only Sakura.

"Thank you," Ino sobbed as relief completely washed over her. A tear finally slipped down her face when she heard Sakura's response.

"You're most certainly welcome."

~#*#~

"It's been a while already, Teme," Naruto pointed out. He looked at his watch and turned to Sasuke. He was not surprised to see a highly irritated Uchiha staring out his window and ignoring him. Naruto rolled his eyes and sighed. He was up to his limit, dealing with the Uchiha's grumpy mood.

This morning, he had to not-too-peacefully drag Sasuke out of bed, fending off a few curses and sharp remarks. It took a few blows to Sasuke's over-blown ego to finally push him to hurry on his way and go to the meeting with Ino. Naruto only glared at him during the entire car ride, attempting to force guilt onto Sasuke. However, it didn't work.

Abruptly, Sasuke opened his car door and stepped out. Taking the cue, Naruto quickly got out of the car too.

"Let's get this over with," Sasuke announced. He walked to the entrance of the restaurant and entered, ignoring the dobe's attempts to call him back.

"Hey, teme! Wait for me!" Naruto called, annoyed at Sasuke's fast walking pace. Naruto quickened his own pace when he saw that Sasuke had already entered through the glass double doors. Naruto pushed his own way through the doors and blindly jogged a few steps. His body hit Sasuke's roughly. Naruto shook his head to clear his daze and finally let his pent-up anger blow up.

"I swear I'm at my limit with dealing with you today, Uchiha! Seriously, can't you just-" Naruto stopped his rant when he realized that Sasuke was staring ahead with a look of muted shock. The emotion flashed across the Uchiha's eyes and a soft look of disdain took his features. Naruto became confused and turned his head to see what lured such an emotion from Sasuke.

~#*#~

"Holy shit. Is that Sakura?" Naruto asked with a lack of belief in his tone. Sasuke didn't answer even though he certainly knew the correct answer.

There she was, casually embracing Ino. A sharp feeling impaled his chest. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize why Ino was sobbing into the shoulder of the woman. Of course, the pink hair gave it all away. The woman was taller and thinner, a metamorphosis of the girl he knew seven years ago.

Sasuke noticed the silver-haired man sitting beside her and was not surprised to see him say the woman's name. The man nodded towards Sasuke and Naruto when he caught the woman's attention. Ino released the woman from her hug and her eyes widened when they met Sasuke's.

The woman turned around and stared directly into Sasuke's eyes. Now, Sasuke knew for sure that this woman is Sakura. Her eyes were still green, except not the defiant, bright emerald that used to adorn her eyes. Now, her eyes were the color of jade, still bright and soft, but it seemed as if life was drained out of her. The more mature face and kind smile didn't help make the sharpness in Sasuke's chest disappear.

Sakura registered shock in her expression, flashing to confusion, and then settling into acceptance as she noticed Naruto and Sasuke. She glanced at Kakashi for help, but he seemed as surprised and nonplussed about this as she was. Quickly, she smiled and looked at Ino with a curious look.

"Our friends also decided to come along, you see," Ino confessed quietly.

"I thought we had a deal, Ms. Yamanaka. You said you would not tell anyone of this," Kakashi warned.

"But I didn't tell anybody anything! I just invited them to this meeting. You never said anything about that," Ino retorted defiantly. After a few moments, Kakashi sighed in defeat and looked to Sakura.

"It's okay, Kakashi. The more, the merrier," Sakura declared, pursing her lips into smile. "Please invite them over, Ino." Ino stared at Sakura dubiously, but went over to her two friends anyway.

When the blonde walked out of earshot, Sakura sat down next to Kakashi, with a sigh.

"I didn't plan to meet them now. Your bargaining skills are horrible, Kakashi," Sakura frowned as she rubbed her temples. To her surprise, Kakashi chuckled.

"It's not my fault that your friend is a smart girl," Kakashi replied with a knowing smile. "Besides, I thought you missed them. This is actually really entertaining."

"Ha. Ha. Yes, I do hope you enjoy this show that I didn't even know we were playing," Sakura snapped sarcastically. Kakashi rolled his eyes and cleared his throat when the triplet arrived at their table. Kakashi gave Sakura a mocking, yet encouraging look and Sakura also cleared her throat. Then, she looked up at them.

"Good morning, guys. Care to join us for breakfast?" Sakura asked, smiling with all the hope she had.

~#*#~

A/N: There we have it! Chapter 5!

Don't kill me! I stopped there for a good reason.

I was wondering what do you think will happen in this fated meeting. Of course, I have my own plot planned out for this already, but I'm curious of what you think.

Your reviews are much appreciated and I thank all my readers and reviewers.

The next chapter should be up soon… I hope. Just believe in me.

Thank you so much for reading!

Alice-san is out!


End file.
